Russ, Bob put me out on my first jump in 1978 at Seagoville and packed my first save also ( which you have a picture of ). What sad news that he passed.

Edited to say: That guy on the right was an ex Dallas cop who had broken his leg so bad that he had to quit jumping long before I ever made my first jump. Can't remember his real name but he went by a nick name of Whimpy or Windy or something like that.

Russ, Bob put me out on my first jump in 1978 at Seagoville and packed my first save also ( which you have a picture of ). What sad news that he passed.

Edited to say: That guy on the right was an ex Dallas cop who had broken his leg so bad that he had to quit jumping long before I ever made my first jump. Can't remember his real name but he went by a nick name of Whimpy or Windy or something like that.

I cleared my docket, and I'll be going to Dallas tomorrow. My phone number is 713 225 5932, so anyone in the know about the "wake" please call me.

Bob was also my original mentor. He trained me for my first jump at his house in 1978. I practiced cutaways on the floor of his living room with two guys pulling on the risers. When my old round parachute opened the next morning, Bob flew around me in his square and shouted steering directions to me. The reserve he packed for me worked perfectly when I used it a few months later at about jump 30. I would never have gotten past being a student without him.

The photo is actually my second jump, but on the same gear as the first. Bob Chaffin may have also put me out on the second, but I am not sure.

Apparently, on my first jump, my knees were not bent enough to make a good PLF, so on the second I was moving my knees just before landing in order to find the correct angle, even though I could not see them under the belly reserve container. Steve Erikson, to the left in the photo, said I looked like a jumpin' frog. Looks like I got it just about right.

We said goodbye to Bob Chaffin on Wednesday. In the great scheme of things, he will go without fame or infamy. He was loved by all who knew him, though. I'd like to hear your feelings about your relationship with he/she who served up your first save or who was your first mentor or who sold you your first or second or third rig, or who packed reserves for years, even though you never used them....

Having been around this mix of people for almost 28 years, it gave me great pleasure, in conflict with my grief, to see so many old time jumpers from different Dallas DZs in attendance. Even the Schrimsher "kids" were there. They were literally DZ Brats when I was coming up so long ago. Chaffin was "Uncle Bob" to them. Dam... They're pushing 40 now..

The simplicity of Bob Chaffinís mentoring is what I admire now. I learned much those first couple of years, yet I remember only the barest of instructional advice. Before my first jump, and the second shown in the photo above, Bob only told me to face in the direction of the paddles at the circumference of the pea gravel pit. This method got me onto the target nearly every time. I can imagine other instructors, especially today, spending hours lecturing about all the intricacies of canopy piloting and procedures for handling unusual events. Square patterns were not discussed (nor very useful with a slow round canopy).

A few jumps later, he allowed me to jump a square parachute rig with a pull-out pilot chute; quite a change form the military gear I had been used. I remember only two pieces of advice from Bob, 1) be sure you are stable when you pull out the pilot chute, and 2) flare slowly in such a way you get to the stall point when your feet touch the ground. Any more information would have overloaded me to a point where I might have lost confidence and not made the jump.

Bob gave students confidence by making the particular jump look easy. He took care of the jumpís complexities beyond the studentís capabilities, and let the student master the next learnable skill. He must have realized too many unnecessary details would confuse the students enough so they could not even remember what was really important.

At the time I had no appreciation for such simplistic, or any other, teaching methods. Giving students enough information to get started, letting them struggle with subsequent problems, then giving help when they are blocked, is my favorite way to both learn and teach. Bob mentored me before I had done much other learning. Now after spending many years in academia being both student and teacher, I see how good an experience I had learning to skydive. I see Bobís teaching style whenever I instructed my own students. Itís nice to think he started such thinking in me on that summer day in 1978 when he gently guided me out of the airplane and into a new lifestyle.

Jeff, beautifully put. There was no ego or self importance in Bob's method of instruction, just the essential information for the task at hand. Made learning so much clearer and much easier to recall when you really needed it.

I just today learned of Bob's passing. I jumped at Seagoville 1970-75. Bob was my mentor and friend. I spent many happy hours with him at the DZ and his home. He was one of the first with a square parachute and sold me my ParaPlane Cloud. That plus the pig rig and the split saddle and the one-shots made us real pioneers back then. He was a good guy.

Kerrysmith, there's still not a day that goes by that Bob doesn't cross my mind, what a memorable person he was.

I agree Jerry, just saw the photo of him in the 73 Parachutist of dad giving him his Gold Wings. "Grandpa Bob" as Stan and I called him. Not sure if he ever appreciated us calling him that, but we really did not have a grandpa and he was a perfect candidate I guess. :)